Mr Yash Chopra
Yash Chopra is one of the most important figures in the history of Indian cinema. Born in Lahore in 1932, he moved to Bombay in 1951 to join the film industry as an assistant to his older brother, BR Chopra. Yash Chopra has directed some of the classics of Indian film. He has the unique distinction of having directed hit films over more than five decades, from Dhoo! ka phool (1959) to his most recent, Veer Zaara (2004).
Mr Chopra has also been a major producer since 1973, consolidating his success in the 1990s with a series of huge box office hits, including Dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge, directed by his son, Aditya Chopra.
Yash Raj Films are also film distributors and run a major purpose-built studio in Mumbai.
Yash Chopra is a household name in India, where he has won many major awards for his films, including the prestigious DG Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award. In recent years his production house has swept the awards ceremonies, and he has refused to accept any more as best director.
In 2005 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan Award, one of India’s highest civilian honours. His many other national and international awards include becoming the first Indian to be honoured by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in 2006.
Mr Chopra’s work has long been appreciated at SOAS, which was one of the first higher education institutions to offer a degree course which focuses on popular Hindi cinema, now widely celebrated as ‘Bollywood’. He is in turn a strong supporter of SOAS, serving on its International Advisory Board.
